The Kitchen Reader: The Sweet Life by David Lebovitz

I didn’t know a whole lot about David Lebovitz before reading this book. I knew that he worked at Chez Panisse, that he now lives in Paris, and that he’s written several dessert cookbooks. After reading the book, I found out why he moved to Paris and I “got to know” him. And I’m glad I did, because he’s a very funny guy and he showed me a side of Paris that I haven’t seen, and probably never will. Yes, he pokes fun at the way of life in Paris, but not in a rude way. The book is a journey through his adjustment to living in Paris, it’s full of humor and, of course, recipes.

The book is set up with a chapter on a topic followed by some recipes that are loosely tied into that topic. I felt like he was giving us recipes that he really wanted to share; not trying to pick out recipes that would be a perfect fit for the chapter. He covers food-related topics, such as the kitchen in his apartment, grocery shopping in Paris, and drinking coffee in Paris (which includes a section on how to order coffee to get what you want: I’ve battled with this myself, so if I ever get back to Paris, I’ll bring his cheat sheet!). Living in Paris isn’t all about the food, so he discusses dressing like a Parisian, French healthcare, and lots of information on shopping, from how to stand in line (or how to not stand in line), his trials and tribulations at BHV, the main department store/hardware store, and how Parisian salespeople are different than American salespeople.

The book is sprinkled with his humorous battles with the French language and Lebovitz laughing at himself for the predicaments he’s gotten himself into. My favorite was when he was told to go into a changing room and take off everything but his underwear; however he thought he was told to take everything off including his underwear! Thankfully, that’s not a situation most of us would get into on a vacation in Paris.

It’s worth getting to know David Lebovitz a little better, and there are so many ways you can do it: read this book, look at his website, follow him on Facebook (he posts lots of interesting food-related links as well as some funny links and updates). In the book, he makes it clear that’s he’s not real keen on having friends of friends of friends show up in Paris and expect to be shown around. His solution for that? He leads culinary toursin France and Paris! Sounds cool, but if that’s not in the plans for you, he provides a long list of his favorite addresses in the back of the book: restaurants, chocolate shops, bakeries, baking supplies, and yes, even orthopedic hosiery (you have to read the book to understand that one)!

Recipes I’d like to try that may show up on this blog someday:

Chocolate Yogurt Snack Cakes

Salted Butter Caramel Sauce

Chicken Mole

Peanut Slaw

Caramelized Apple Tart (low-fat)

Note to Kitchen Readers: I’m offline right now, so it may be a while before I get to your blogs. I apologize for the delay, but I will visit you when I can!

Hi Jill, I could only imagine how mortified both David and the woman in the underwear story were – and what were the two bits of paper for if not for preserving modesty?? Hmmmm… I really enjoyed this book too, and have bookmarked a number of the recipes.

I think it’s great that David can laugh at himself, and even write about his experiences for others to read! It sounds as though you need a pretty good sense of humor to be an American living in Paris.